Since its well-received inception in 2005, CLIA’s cruise3sixty has grown into the official gold standard of cruise industry conferences. It’s an “absolutely must attend” opportunity for travel agents to advance their business skills and knowledge of cruising, network with top industry leaders, and have a great time, too. Every year cruise3sixty has been a sellout, and with more than 1,300 delegates registered as of February, this year’s spectacular in Vancouver, British Columbia, June 2-6, is guaranteed to be another winner.

The program is packed with inspiring speakers, lively discussions, fantastic entertainment and more CLIA educational seminars and workshops than you’ll find anywhere else. Add in a trade show with hundreds of exhibitors – including all of CLIA’s cruise line members – plus all of Vancouver and magnificent British Columbia to explore, and cruise3sixty becomes the opportunity of a lifetime!

This year we’re celebrating the cruise industry’s resilience during tough economic times and the contributions of women in business and travel. To kick things off, cruise3sixty’s keynote address will be given by a woman who has shown not only resilience but incredible survival skills in climbing to the pinnacle of not one but many careers. Alison Levine has survived sub-zero temperatures, hurricane-force winds, sudden avalanches, and a career on Wall Street. She served as team captain of the first American Women’s Everest Expedition and skied across the Arctic Circle to the geographic North Pole.

In January 2008, Levine made history as the first American to complete a 600-mile traverse from west Antarctica to the South Pole. And she did all this after being born with a life-threatening heart condition that precluded even walking up stairs until she was 13 and a neurological disease that causes the arteries that feed her fingers and toes to collapse in cold weather. At the same time, Levine was pursuing a two-decade-long career in business that eventually led to her being named deputy finance director for Arnold Schwarzenegger in his successful bid to be elected governor of California. She currently serves as an adjunct professor at the United States Military Academy at West Point.

Other highlights of this year’s general sessions include the always illuminating Presidents Panel, with the CEOs of several major cruise lines offering their perspectives on the industry and its future; a Small Ship Cruising discussion; and a timely panel on “Redefining Luxury in a New Economy.” In challenging times there is nothing more important than being prepared for new realities and a changing sales environment, so between general sessions cruise3sixty delegates will have to chance to earn up to 135 CLIA Certification credits and select from a choice of 15 CLIA seminars – the fastest possible track toward CLIA Certification on several levels of training and experience.

Particularly relevant to today’s business environment, two new seminars are debuting at cruise3sixty, including a three-hour program titled “Getting Connected: A Primer on Social Media Networking” and a 90-minute session called “Selling Successfully across Cultures.” Among the other seminars are sessions dealing with presentation skills, business plans, building client loyalty, special interest marketing, principles of professional selling, relationship management, understanding groups and more.

Additional educational opportunities at cruise3sixty will include inspections of ships in the Alaska fleets of CLIA member lines; 50-minute product and destination workshops showcasing top cruise destinations and innovative cruise-related products; the American Express Technology Center, a series of 50-minute workshops offering hands-on, practical experience with the latest travel technology; booking demonstrations offered by CLIA member lines to ensure that you derive maximum benefits from the latest booking technologies; and cruise line product briefings.

But cruise3sixty is by no means all work and no play. This is your chance to meet cruise industry leaders, and mingle and network with colleagues, suppliers and top cruise sellers from across North America. You also can discover what makes Vancouver and British Columbia rank among the top tourism destinations in the world. There is a lavish Welcome Reception, hosted by Tourism Vancouver at the famous Vancouver Aquarium, as well as other parties, sightseeing tours, pre-and post-conference fams and, of course, the hugely popular CLIA Hall of Fame Dinner on Saturday evening with superstar entertainment.

Every year CLIA inducts into the Cruise Industry Hall of Fame representatives from three categories of industry service –a cruise retailer, a cruise line executive and an “at large” category that may be any individual, such as an additional retailer or cruise line executive, a politician, publisher or shipbuilder. In 2009, the three selections made for the Cruise Industry Hall of Fame were: Edwin Stephan, founder of Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines; Walter Sherota, founder of Gold Coast Cruises; and Josephine Kling and Joyce Landry, founders of Landry & Kling, Inc. CLIA is now accepting nominations for the 2010 Hall of Fame and we welcome you to let your voice be heard. Submit your nominations by March 31 at www.cruising.org/travelagents.

The winners are selected on the basis of nominations from CLIA members and the names announced during a gala cruise3sixty celebration featuring the very best in cruise line entertainment. Performing this year and presented by Celebrity Cruises are 42Five, a remarkable act evolving from a street corner barbershop sound and drawing on funk, rock, jazz, and blues. Closing the Hall of Fame event is the world-renowned Blue Man Group presented by Norwegian Cruise Line, with their unique theatrical performance of music, comedy and multimedia entertainment. Both acts showcase the remarkable entertainment found on today’s cruise ships.

For the past five years, cruise3sixty has been getting better and better. This year, the event’s sixth, will be the best of all. As we gather in Canada for the first time, this will be your opportunity to take advantage of innovative programming and the best training and education anywhere to prepare yourself for the challenges to come. Of course, none of this would be possible without the very generous sponsors of cruise3sixty. I want to thank American Express, Tourism Vancouver, Amadeus, Sabre Travel Network, Expedia CruiseShipCenters, Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Hong Kong Tourism Board, Travelport, and all of our Workshop and Destination sponsors. Thank you for your partnership and continued support of cruise3sixty and our CLIA travel agents.

CLIA’s cruise3sixty will be the best and most enjoyable investment you will make in your business this year! Visit www.cruise3sixty.com to register or find more information at www.cruising.org. See you in Vancouver!

Bob Sharak is executive vice president of Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA). 
 

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